On Wednesday, Jan. 8, Villanova (11-5, 4-1 Big East) defeated No. 9 UConn (12-4, 4-1 Big East), 68-66, in the Finneran Pavilion. It marks the Wildcats’ first win over the Huskies since March 11, 2022, and the biggest win in Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune’s era.

Villanova’s defense was the key factor in defeating the second-most efficient offense in the country. The Wildcats forced 13 turnovers and held the two-time defending national champions to under 70 points for just the second time this season. Villanova is 10-0 when holding its opponents to under 70 points.

“[UConn] is a hard team to scout on film,” Neptune said. “They have great players, obviously a great coach and a great system. I thought our guys just played hard when they were physical.”

At the beginning of the season, Villanova’s defense had no identity. Since the 70-60 loss to Virginia on Nov. 15, Villanova has held opponents to an average of 64.4 points per game.The NCAA leading scorer, graduate forward Eric Dixon, was limited to five points and 1-8 from the field in the first half. Dixon, however, played the entire forty minutes for the first time in his career and finished the game with 23 points. He knocked down crucial field goals and drew fouls late in the second half.

“Dixon’s one of the best players in the country,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley said. “[Villanova] is an NCAA Tournament caliber team, with one of the best players in the country.”

In place of Dixon’s scoring, senior guard Wooga Poplar continued his impressive stretch of performances. Poplar finished the game with 18 points and four rebounds. He has averaged 15.2 points and 7.4 rebounds over the last five games with two of those five games being double-doubles.

Graduate guard Jhamir Brickus had five assists and just one turnover. Villanova has only had 20 turnovers in its last four games.

“​​Keep the ball in [Brickus’] hands,” Poplar said when asked about limiting turnovers. “This team needs to take care of the ball by being more disciplined and instead of trying to go for the home run passes, just make the simple passes.”

Villanova was up by 12 points in the second half when UConn strung together an 11-2 scoring run with 11:07 left to play. The UConn comeback was led by sophomore guard Solo Ball. He scored all of his 16 points in the second half, nailing four three-pointers.

In the end, it all came down to the game’s final seconds.

Villanova led UConn, 67-66, with three seconds left in the game when UConn redshirt junior Alex Karaban went to the free throw line for two shots.

The crowd deafened the Finneran Pavilion, as it did for the entire game, as Karaban headed to the charity stripe. Karaban, UConn’s leading scorer, missed both free throw attempts for the first time in his entire collegiate career. Neptune acknowledged the crowd’s effect on UConn’s performance.

“We love our fans,” Neptune said. “We love playing here [in the Finn]. The energy – you feel it as soon as you get in the building.”

Villanova has started to turn its season around, winning eight of its last nine games, and now a win over UConn is one step closer to being considered for a bid to the NCAA tournament. 

“We have 15 hours to enjoy this [win],” Neptune said. “We have to watch some film, get better, practice and get some rest. That’s gonna be the same thing for the next couple of weeks.”

The Wildcats will now prepare to face St. John’s (13-3, 4-1 Big East) on Saturday, Jan. 11 at Madison Square Garden (7 p.m., CBSSN).